


Raid Boss

by ms45



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Gen, Trolling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-06-14
Packaged: 2017-12-14 22:46:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ms45/pseuds/ms45
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>platesfullofnothing asked "I'd love to hear your take on Isabela trolling Aveline". Indeed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Raid Boss

“The Viscount’s office has announced a crackdown on vice.” Aveline took a long pull on her stout and pressed her lips together to wipe off the foam. Beside her, Fenris spread out his hand to prepare for his next move.

“Ooh, that sounds fun. Will it be like the last crackdown where hundreds of innocent elves got shaken down and publicly humiliated, slowing the vice trade by exactly zero percent?” For a happy-go-lucky brigand, Isabela could be quite the agitator. Something unreadable flickered across the elf’s face, then he showed his hand - a Witch’s Coven.

“Where the hell were you hiding that?!!” howled Isabela, as Fenris collected his winnings.

“In my smallclothes,” the elf replied blandly. 

“No, this one the Viscount’s taking very seriously,” Aveline continued. She collected the cards - Isabela was no longer allowed to shuffle, much to her disgust. “We won’t just be hassling street prostitutes. This will go to the very top - not just the Rose, but its clients as well. No-one should think himself untouchable. Or herself,” she added, staring pointedly at Isabela.

“Ha! A quiet word from our favourite aficionado of Nevarran rope bondage should put a stop to that.”

Aveline shook her head. “No, Marlowe’s got a real bee in his bonnet about this. I was at the meeting where he announced it. Bran was not happy, but he’s just going to have to eat vanilla for a while.” She shuffled the cards, her large hands neat and efficient.

Isabela scoffed. “You wouldn’t dare raid the Rose. Lusine would freeze you in your tracks.”

Aveline fixed her with a look that would freeze anyone not a shameless hussy. “Really? Does this freezing come with blades and crossbows?”

For once, Isabela was at a loss for words. The Blooming Rose had its security, of course, but it primarily relied on its relatively respectable clientele to avoid trouble. In a bar where you could rub elbows with the seneschal, any number of nobility and several high ranking mercenaries, people tended not to start fights. But if the City Guard really was under orders to rout the place, and they were no longer the under-resourced shambles they’d been before Aveline took the helm… Many of the Rose’s workers were bright or at least resourceful, but some couldn’t pick the pocket of a drunk, blind, lyrium-addled Templar, let alone anyone with enough money to notice that their pocket was being picked. Her girls (and boys) deserved to be warned.

Aveline and Fenris watched as the pirate slipped into a thoughtful expression they’d never seen before. Letting her cards fall to the table, Isabela wriggled out from the long wooden table, catching her boot buckles on the bench and staggering in a most unusual way. “Sorry, I… people to see. Back… eventually.” She practically skipped out of the Hanged Man.

Left alone at the table, the two warriors watched her until she disappeared out the door. Fenris turned back to Aveline. “He’s just going to have to eat vanilla?”

“I’m quite proud of that one.”

“How long do you think it will take her?”

Aveline shrugged. “Who knows? It’s not like she’s expecting me to send her on a goose chase.”

“There may be a compensatory spike in burglaries.”

“There’s more likely to be Isabela trying to stab me in my sleep.”

“Oh, I don’t know. She’ll probably buy you a drink.”

“After she stabs me in my sleep.”


End file.
